Help with trip to Peru

Miró

I am going to Peru in a few weeks time - visiting Lima, Paracas, Nazca, Arequipa, Chivay, Puno and Cuzco and along the way it will include a visit to the Sacred Valley, Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu. It's an organised tour staying in reasonably good hotels but is on a B & B basis. I am wondering how much to allow for a nice evening meal in local restaurants each night and also how am I likely to fare as a veggie? Any recommendations for decent places would be great. I do have a guide book and have looked on Trip Adviser but would love some input from anyone who has done this sort of trip.

Also, am starting to feel a bit concerned about the possibility of altitude sickness and wondered how other travellers have fared. The high bits come at the end of the trip so I'm hoping to have acclimatised somewhat. Not expecting to do anything very energetic, (train & bus to Machu Picchu for eg). I've read about taking a herbal supplement called Ginkgo Biloba? My doctor has advised against taking medication for altitude sickness because of the side effects.

Any other tips/advice/help would be very much appreciated. This is a lifetime dream for me and I really want to get it right!

Many thanks

El_Torro

Since you're going on an organised tour most of what you do will be done as a group, including your meals. You can break away from the group, especially for dinner, but in my experience these things work best when the majority stay together. If your trip leader is any good he should be able to cater to your vegetarian needs.

I was in Peru 5 years ago and back then you could get a decent evening meal for between 10 and 20 Soles, so two to four pounds. Very touristy restaurants will cost more. As with most of South America Peru is very carnivorous. There are pizza restaurants everywhere though so a Pizza Margherita may be your last resort.

Altitude sickness is a possibility. I did suffer from it mildly. It gets better after a few days. I also hiked to very high altitudes and coped. I wouldn't worry about it too much; the risk is low, especially if you're not going to do any hiking. I found sucking on coca leaves and drinking coca tea helped. This is a remedy that Peruvians have been using for hundreds of years.

Gavin83

How's your Spanish?

How much you spend on food depends on where you go. A locals restaurant will be cheap (few £s for a meal) where as in a tourist restaurant you'll pay a premium. However the locals restaurant is very unlikely to speak any English so if you don't have some basic Spanish you may struggle.

Peru loves its meat and being a vegetarian is basically unheard of but there will certainly be options for you. Just don't expect the same selection as the UK.

Altitude sickness didn't really bother me and there is no way of knowing how you'll cope until your there. Fitness doesn't make a difference although there is a theory that smokers cope better with altitude. Coca leaves are meant to help but seeing as this is the base ingredient for cocaine and is actually a class A drug in this country it depends on how much this bothers you.

Peru is an awesome country though so I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Beenie

We went to Peru in late May of this year. Did all the usual tourist stuff and visited all the places that you have mentioned, plus some.

Food is not a problem in Peru. It's cheap, plentiful and delicious. Vegetarians are well catered for in my experience (unless you're very strict and don't eat eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt etc.). You will dine well on quinoa, tomatoes, avocados, potatoes, grains, bread, salads, and peppers.

We ate independently in the evenings as we were not in the same hotels as the majority of our group (14 people). I'd splashed out on the luxurious hotel option, whereas the others went for the superior options. Don't bother with the standard rooms. We used Tripadvisor to guide us with restaurants in each place and weren't disappointed with any that we ate at. Quite the opposite in fact.

Do take altitude sickness seriously, and do not overdo things. You are getting half the oxygen you need and are used to at sea level - it's hard to believe that you are so high up at times. All good hotels provide free coca tea in the lobbies, and bottled water in the rooms. Your tour guide should give you all a free bottle of water as you get on the coach each day. Staying hydrated at altitude is half the battle.

The people we came across who were sick had flown into Lima then straight up to the higher places. Not good. You must pace your altitude and it looks like you're doing that with the itinerary you've given us.

Enjoy your hols. You'll have a great time!

callum9999

I'm not sure where this meat crazy reputation comes from - I can't say it's something I noticed. They eat a lot of meat but if you look at any restaurant menu over here it would be full of mainly meat dishes too. Vegetarianism is certainly less common over there but they are well aware what it is!

As to the altitude sickness, it affects everyone differently but as long as you don't overdo the first day you arrive in the highlands you should be fine. I personally despised the coca tea but I was fine without it.

Alfrescodave

From the description of your travel itinerary it sounds like the trip we have just returned from (PM me if you want).


Food is not a big problem for non meat eaters - my wife is one and we found lots of choices particularly if you like fish. Generally restaurant food is cheaper than UK especially in non hotel restaurants.


I highly recommend the use of TripAdviser when you are at your hotel particularly the option that allows you to see restaurants./ places of interest close to your hotel.